Process and apparatus for drying solid bodies containing liquid.



J. W. E. ELL|NG.. PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING SOLID BODIES CONTMNING LIQUID;

APPLICATION FILED MAR- 2m 1911.

Patentad Apr. 23

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JENS WILLIAM EGIDIU'S ELLING, OF CHRISTIAN'IA, NORWAY, ASSIG-NOB TO A/S. MYRENS VERKS'IED, OF CHBIS'IIANIA, NORWAY.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOB DRYING SOLID BODIES CONTAINING LIQUID.

Application filed March 20, 1917. Serial No. 156,234.

invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art' to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

In processes for extractin liquid from solid bodies, which may not e exposed to a high temperature or dry air, and must therefore be deprived of their moisture by vaporization, it is in many cases necessary to use-a very high degree of evacuation in order to maintain the vaporization point for the fluid contained in the said body at a lower temperature than the highest to which the body may be exposed without injury. When this is the case however the surrounding atmosphere will obviously be very thin, and as the insulating capacity of the atmosphere increases with increasing degree of evacuation, the said atmosphere will be a bad conductor for the heat from the heating medium to the goods to be dried. Accordingly very large heating or cooling surfaces as well as high velocities of the vapor from the goods are required in order to perform the evaporation in a reasonable time.

The above disadvantage are obviated by means of the present process according to which the heating medium is maintained under a higher pressure than the goods to be dried and is separated from the latter by means of a yielding or resilient wall or diaphragm in such a manner that the high pressure heating medium presses the said wall tightly against the goods to be dried. In this manner is obtained a good heat conducting efi'ect as the heat does 'not pass any space of air but is conducted from the heating medium through the resilient wall directly to the goods to be dried.

The process according to the invention may be carried out in difierent ways, for instance by placing the goods to be dried in bags of resilient material and connecting Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 213, 1918.

the interior of saidbags to a suction device adapted to ma1nta1n a suitable degree of evacuatlon 1n the same, while at the outside they are exposed to a heatin medium under higher ressure pressing t e bags against the goo s. The drying goods may also be placed on shelves or hung against walls in the evaporation chamber bein covered on one or more sides with resilient bags or d1aphragms,the opposite sides of which are 1n contact with the heating medium; In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a drying apparatus.

Fig. 2 shows the same in plan with the top cover removed.

Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line IIIIII on Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a section through another form of the invention and Figs.- 5 and 6 show sections through further modifications.

According to the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4,'the goods to be dried are placed in bags 1, which are fastened along the edge of openings 2 in a horizontal plate 3 mounted in a container A. The spaced above said plate is connected through a conduit 6 to a suction device not shown, which maintains a suficient degree of evacuation, and the space 5 is filled with a suitable heating medium such as steam, hot air, hot water or the like through a pipe (1.

In order to maintain a suitable pressure difierencebetween the spaces 4 and 5 any pressure control mechanism of known construction may be used, such as for instance illustrated in Fig. 3, Where the manometer tube 7 is connected at one end with the space 5 and at its other end, with the outlet 6 from the chamber 4.

According to the form shown in Fig. 4C a vertical plate 8 is located between each pair of bags in order to prevent a too large deformation of the bags in filling the same with goodsto be dried.

According to the form illustrated in Fig. '5 the goods to be dried are placed on horizontal shelves 9 in a container B which is connected to a suction device by a conduit 10, said shelves 9 at the same time forming the upper walls of disk shaped heating chambers 5 the lower walls of which are formed by resilient bags or plates 1*. The spaces between the resilient walls 1 and the shelves 9 are connected b means of openings 11 with a'hollow sha 12 carrying the shelves 9 supplied with a heating medium. The goods to be dried are placed on the shelves 9 as indicated at 13, and the heating medium is introduced into the chambers 5 from the shaft 12 through the opening 11. The resilient wallsexpand and press against the goods to be dried so that heat is transmitted to the same through the resilient wall.

Otherwise the process is accomplished in the same manner as above described.

The heating medium acts at the same time on the underside of the goods placed on the next shelf above. The lowest shelf has no bag but a dished plate 9 on the underside forms a chamber supplied with a heating medium from the shaft 12. A suitable pressure diflerence between the interior of the container B and the chambers 5* is maintained by a manometer tube 12*.

I By the form shown in Fig. 6 the goods to be dried are placed onshelves 1 1 under resilient walls or diaphragms 1 The spaces 4 between said diaphragm 1 and the shelves 14 are connected to the suction conduit 16, while the spaces 5 above the diaphragms are supplied with a heating medium through the conduit 15. A. pressure diflerence between spaces 4 and 5 is maintained by a manometer tube 16*.

I claim: 7 1. The method of drying solid material, which comprises subjecting the material to suction while supplying heat to the surfaceof the material by a heating medium separated from and out of contact with the material, said heating medium exerting a pressure on the material being dried and while under suction.

2. A. drying apparatus comprising two chambers separated by a flexible partition,

naeaeea means to exhaust one of the chambers, and

means to supply a heating mediurnto the other chamber, said flexible partition contacting with and conforming to the changing shape of the material being dried.

3. In a drying apparatus, an exhausted chamber in which the material to be dried tainer, rigid means therein for supporting the material to be dried, flexible walls cooperating with the supports forming noncommunicating chambers, means to supply a heating medium to one of said chambers and means to exhaust the other chamber.

6. A drying apparatus comprising a container, a plurality of rigid supports for the material to be dried, flexible members interposed between the supports forming su- 1plerposed chambers, means for supplying a eating medium under pressure onto the flexible members to press the latter toward the supports and onto the material, and means to exhaust the space below the flexible members.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, l have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JENS WILLIAM AUGIDIUS ENDING.

Witnesses:

KARL L. LEE, 6. Vermeer. 

